


Lil McGill comes home {where everyone still calls her Nancy}

by Manny (Manniness)



Category: Rocky Raccoon - The Beatles (Song)
Genre: Picking up where the song left off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23891008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manniness/pseuds/Manny
Summary: So what happened after Dan shot Rocky?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 4





	Lil McGill comes home {where everyone still calls her Nancy}

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is for my Mr. Manny because Rocky Raccoon is one of his favorite songs by The Beatles (and I hadn't even known it existed before he played it for me).

The old wooden step creaked under her weight. Damn warped boards. Rocky should have fixed these when she'd told him to instead of lounging in that horrid, plaid recliner that had seen better days with a beer in hand and a game on that clunky hand-me-down TV.

Even now she could hear the drone of the announcer filtering through the walls of her former beau's ramshackle bungalow. The place wasn't much to look at and that had been part of the reason why she'd taken up with Dan.

Big, strong, smart Dan who'd been going places... up until he'd shot Rocky in full view of a dozen, sober, God-fearing witnesses.

That was when the novelty of being desired by two strapping boys had fizzled out. In a heartbeat.

She had been on the next bus out of town.

But she'd called (eventually) and asked her old girlfriend from high school, Bobbi Lynn, who'd assured her that Dan was out of jail and Rocky was on the mend.

"Where in God's green earth are you, Nancy?"

Nancy McGill had sighed into the payphone receiver. "Vegas. And it's Lil, now. Remember?"

"Sure. Sure. Vegas, huh? Wow. I bet them lights are blinding."

To a country girl from a backwoods podunk town tucked in a lost corner of a holler to nowhere, yes, they certainly had been. Lustrous and shimmering. Mesmerizing. Both the scrolling marque lights and the charming smiles of high rollers.

Lil sucked in a deep breath as a wave of nausea hit her, and she damned her charming high roller, who'd rolled right out of town when his luck had changed, sticking Lil with the bill... and a bun in the oven.

So with her last two hundred dollars, she'd done the only sensible thing a girl could do: she'd bet it all on a bus ticket back home.

And a long walk had brought her here to Rocky's little ranch. Acres that his granddaddy had given him and what a happy reunion they'd have... once she pasted a smile on her face.

Hand gliding along the smooth railing -- well, at least he'd gotten something done since she'd been gone! -- Lil tromped up to the front door and banged on the screen.

"Yup! Hold your horses!"

Ah, Rocky. The same as always. Lil threw back her shoulders, tossed her hair, and smiled for--

"You always gotta make an entrance, don't you?"

Lil gawped. "Dan?"

"Oh, so you do remember me? Maybe you forgot how to find the county jail, then. 'Cause I don't remember you stopping by once for a visit."

"I-- I-- What are you doing HERE?"

"Watching the game with Rocky. What are YOU doing here?"

"You're here," she repeated slowly, certain she'd heard him wrong, "watching the game with Rocky--"

"That's what I said."

"Who you shot--"

"I did do that."

"Because he was gonna kill you with his granddaddy's shotgun--"

"Say it like you were there."

"Over me."

"Well, the good news is, in the three months you've been gone, we've both come to our senses."

She cleared her throat. "Four months."

"Was it? Guess I didn't keep track."

Dan stared fit to burn the wind right out of her sails, but she was on a mission. "I'd like to see Rocky."

Dan shrugged. "I reckon it's about time you bothered."

He didn't even open the screen door for her. Just stomped back into the pitifully threadbare living room with its dusty corners. The rumble of Dan's voice. Too low for her to make out the words.

And then Rocky swooped into view. Grinning like he was genuinely glad to see her and not just happy to have a sweating beer can in his hand. "Well, hell, Nancy. Been a while. What brings you out here?"

"I missed you."

His smile widened. "You did?"

She nodded, nudging her lips in that slow grin that had always made him especially agreeable. "How've you been?" She winced. "That's a dumb question. Sorry."

Rocky laughed. "Pretty dumb, but I don't mind none. I've been recovering. Dan's been helping out around here since the day they let him out of county. Would've lost the place if he hadn't come by when he did."

"I'm a little surprised to see him here," she murmured.

"Don't know why you would be. You picked him. Had yourself a real good man."

Had. Yes, she had had Dan. Until she'd hightailed it out of town.

Lil said, "Yes, but I came by to see you--"

"That's mighty decent of you, Nancy. Thanks for stopping by. You take care now."

Lil startled back as the front door shut in her face, rattling the screen door in its rusty frame.

Well!

Well.

A weaker woman would admit defeat and head back into town. Knock on Bobbi Lynn's door and beg for a spot on her momma's davenport for the night.

Lil's hand went to her belly and her gaze went to the rickety porch rocker. Nancy McGill might have been a silly girl from a tiny hick town, but Lil was a survivor. She settled in.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, Lil learned two things: Rocky and Dan were just as stubborn as she was, and they were done with being fools.

Years later, Lil's daughter sat on that same bowed porch with her favorite uncles Rocky and Dan. Laughing at their antics while her mother was touching up her makeup for yet another date. This time with the new vet in town.

In the golden glow of late evening, Dan strummed a chord on his guitar and Rocky stomped and clapped out the beat, teaching their honorary niece a song worth knowing:

"Now somewhere in the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota there lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon..."

**Author's Note:**

> Although the song is set in the Black Hills, I really wanted it to feel more like Appalachia... like the backwoods of Kentucky (where I once spent a few misplaced months). So forgive the mixed linguistic signals and just enjoy Lil's chagrin. (^_~)
> 
> I am super tickled (and amazed) that your ventures brought you to this little fic. If you have a moment to tell me what's on your mind, my inbox is open! (^_^)
> 
> Love,  
> Manny Manniness  
> manniness.dreamwidth.org


End file.
